A part-time worker was considering withdrawing their Universal Credit claim over ‘unrealistic expectations’. They feared being forced to leave a job they ‘really enjoy’ in pursuit of more hours would be ‘unsustainable and possibly cause relapses in their mental health’.
The applicant said they suffered from OCD and symptoms of PTSD, which ‘wreaked havoc with their sleep when it flared up’. Having explained that to a work coach at their first appointment, they claimed they were told the conditions would not affect their ability to work.
Posting on Reddit, they said: “Additionally, I am currently working a part-time job which I am really enjoying and the work coach told me that I would have to leave my job to pursue more hours and has told me to apply to a bunch of jobs which are not even possible for me to work with my condition.”
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They continued: “My question is this, should I just withdraw my claim for the time being as I live with my parents and won’t be homeless or unfed. I am not comfortable agreeing to the commitments that I must leave my current job that I enjoy, pursue potentially triggering jobs and being told that my OCD will not affect my ability to work in certain aspects.”
A poster who said they were a work coach was one of the first to reply, and said they’d “find it very bold to make that conclusion” about how someone’s health affects them, adding: “We are not medical professionals, but this does sound slightly tricky.”
They continued: “Personally I’d be more concerned with how are you being affected by your health, rather than the specific conditions. Did your work coach interrogate it further and did you try to explain how you are affected? Such as going into what tasks are you not able to do, why would doing more hours be prohibitive for you?
“Are there certain types of jobs you can do better than others? Is there additional support that could help you increase your hours and availability such as through reasonable adjustments, access to work, or something else etc? These are the kinds of questions your work coach should ideally be leading the conversation into.
“Ordinarily, if someone is in a part-time job and they’re earning below the required amount for their conditionality, it’s correct that unfortunately, we have to encourage people to increase their earnings by either finding alternative employment or to try and supplement their income.”
However they did say there were occasions where the expectation could be ‘tailored down’ but for something health related, medical evidence would be needed, such as a fit note. Explaining further, they said: “So, say your doctor agreed you can only do 10hrs/week for example, and they write this in your fit note. The work coach can consider using that as your new expected earnings threshold. 10 hours x minimum wage (11.44) = 114.40/week = £495/month. So if you’d be earning £495 in your assessment period, your work coach could manually override your work group into ‘working enough’ and not require you to work more. That’s one example.”
They recommended the poster had a conversation with their doctor, and to discuss their health conditions again with their work coach, adding: “It may also be worth asking the disability employment advisor to sit in with the work coach. They act as guidance for work coaches to ensure they are delivering the correct support to people with additional needs due to their health and so help them ask the right questions. It’ll be good to have a DEA sit in one of your next appointments.”
They concluded: “It is not my place to tell you whether you should keep your claim open or not, only you can make that decision, all I’d say is make sure you’re making an informed decision. It could also be worth contacting an independent organisation that can give you free and impartial advice, such as Citizens Advice Bureau, Welfare Rights, Disability Direct to name the ones to the top of my head.”